Disclaimer: The name Vocaloid belongs to YAMAHA and not me. :(
Chapter 17: Of Secret Plans, A Missing Brother and A Nervous Breakdown
Rei's POV
I laughed as I approached Len, "Dude, even after three days, you still smell."
Len growled, "My patience with you is running thin, Rei. I advice you leave me alone."
I 'tsk'ed. "Whatever."
"REI!"
I turned around and saw Rin running towards me. When I saw the immense worry in her eyes, I immediately knew something was wrong. I smiled warmly to try to comfort her a bit and asked, "What's wrong, Rin?"
She looked up at me, and her cerulean eyes looked so disturbed and worried, I couldn't help but frown slightly, "I… Have you seen Rinto as of late?"
Rinto? I shook my head, "Not since this morning."
Rin frowned disappointingly, "I've been searching for him for hours now, I can't find him…"
We both looked at Len, and I gave him an accusing look when I saw him flinch a bit. "I-I haven't seen him since a couple hours ago."
Rin started talking, but her words didn't reach my ears. I looked at Len, watching him very carefully. The dude is hiding something, and it's most likely about Rinto's disappearance. I'm going to find out what it is…
General POV
Little Rinto yawned tiredly as he rubbed his eyes to awaken himself a bit more. He solemnly looked at his surroundings, and his eyes widened when he saw he was alone in a dark room with faint red lights flickering on and off every once in a while. He shut his eyes in fear, thinking everything was a nightmare and he would wake up soon.
"Mikio," A grim voice spoke from behind the shadows, and Rinto couldn't help but cower in fear, "Well done. You brought him in unharmed."
Another voice spoke, this one a bit deeper than the first, "You wanted him unharmed? I thought the whole point to this mission was to harm him."
The earlier voice responded, "That's precisely it. Don't you get it? Now we have more room to hurt."
Rinto didn't really understand their conversation, so, being the little kid he was, he started crying. His wails of terror and despair were answered by a kinder voice than the other two, "Y-Yuuma, I th-think you sh-should turn the l-light on… Y-You're s-s-scaring him…!"
The figure to which the voice belonged to stepped out from his place in the shadows and picked Rinto up from the floor, all the while whispering soothing words into his ear to help him calm down. He looked over at the tallest shadow of them all (well, he was only a few millimeters taller than the second-to-tallest, but that's besides the point) and frowned, "Y-Yuuma, I think you've gone t-too f-far with this p-plan..."
Mikio inwardly winced when he saw his leader's piercing olive-green eyes. "Are you defying me, Mikio?"
The red-haired boy immediately shook his head and clutched the little boy in his arms closer to his chest. "N-No, I-I just th-think this c-could b-be done a d-different w-way..."
In that moment, the red lights stopped flickering and the room was bathed with a bright white light. Everyone turned towards the door and looked curiously at Piko, who had a pretty bored expression as he casually made his way inside the room with an overly-exaggerated yawn. "Your attempts at horror are lame, Yuuma."
Trailing behind him is Miki, who had shape-shifted into a cat. She licked her paw and rubbed it behind her ear as she said, "And, bro, you really are too weak."
Mikio was used to his older twin's teasing, so he didn't really take the comment to heart. Instead, he turned Rinto's head so his face was now smashed against his chest so the poor boy wouldn't have to see anything else unnecessary. He managed to glare over at Luki's direction when he saw him take a step forward to rip the young kid from his grasp. "Come now, Mikio, you can't honestly label us as the bad guys. After all," Luki smirked when he saw the trembling boy's red eyes widen, "you kidnapped him."
"O-Only because...!" He really didn't appreciate how this whole 'kidnapping' business went down, and he couldn't believe Yuuma - the one whom he had thought was his friend - just out-right used him!
A low 'umph' was the only thing hid lips could get out before Mikio was gagged and tied to a chair, his feet and arms helplessly trying to break free from the ropes that held him down. A couple of tears threatened to fall as he dared to look up at his 'team members' with a saddened - nearly betrayed - look.
"Come now, Mikio," the boy shivered when he felt Yuuma's cold hands grip his slender throat, "don't look at us like that. You brought this upon yourself by refusing-" the leader tightened his hold on Mikio's neck before continuing, "-to cooperate when we ever-so nicely asked you to do the task."
Mikio could feel his lungs tightening at the lack of oxygen, and he really wished Yuuma would take his cold - terribly cold - hands off of him. But, of course, his prayer went on unanswered as he felt himself slipping from consciousness, Yuuma's grip on him tightening gradually over time. Spots of black slowly overtook his vision, and dear God, how he wished he could just stop...!
Luki, who had been watching in silence, kept quiet as he sneaked up behind Mikio and hovered his right hand over his ahoge, his blue eyes sending a silent 'I'm ready' to Yuuma.
The man received the message and looked down at Mikio with a smirk as he said, "Well, as nice as this little chat was, I'm afraid I've grown impatient. I will no longer need you-" Mikio's eyes widened as he understood what was about to happen and fought harder against his so-called 'teammates', "-for this mission. Have fun~"
"W-Wait!"
His cries went on ignored by Yuuma and Luki as the latter pulled on his gravity-defying strand of hair. After two more pulls, Mikio's head hung limp for a few seconds before snapping back up; his cherry-red eyes now crimson as he stared angrily at Yuuma. "Really?" He struggles a bit from the ropes tying him down before bringing his arms up in one swift motion, the ropes now broken beneath him. "Is this seriously how you treat me after so long?"
Yuuma smiles at the man before him in near pride as he says, "Welcome back, Takeshi."
Mikio tried hardly not to snap. After all, he wasn't that kind of person. That, and he didn't want the poor kid to hate him too.
'I hate you! I'm never talking to you again!'
He shook his head. No, now is NOT the time to think about... That.
"Mikio," said boy looks over towards his twin sister, who looks a bit angry, "go to your room."
"But-"
"Go to your room."
Reluctantly, Mikio shook his head in agreement and headed off towards his room, Rinto clutching his shirt tightly the entire way there. He didn't mind it much, though, and when he heard the young boy sneeze, he picked up his pace.
Once Miki felt her brother was well out of earshot, she turned towards the other two culprits (mainly Yuuma) and frowned, "Really? You summoned Takeshi?!"
Luki put his hands up in defense before answering, "Not my fault the damn kid didn't co-op!"
Miki hissed at the two in a little warning before shape-shifting into her original form. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and said, "And what made you think he would?"
Yuuma frowned in annoyance as he saw the two fight back and forth. He sat down in his office chair and spun it around so he was now facing the many cameras filling the wall. Uninterested, one of his olive-green eyes wandered over to Camera #34. He smiles slightly in amusement before pressing a red button.
"Yes, Yuuma?"
'All according to plan...'
Rin pouts as she looks through the room for what felt the thousandth time. She dusts off imaginary particles off of her shirt and shorts before turning towards Rei, a look of worry and slight annoyance in her cerulean orbs. "Where on earth could he be?"
The raven-haired boy shrugs nonchalantly, "Maybe we should rest for a bit-"
"Already giving up?" Len declared, happy at seeing Rei's 'beyond-amused' face.
Rei let out an irritated 'humph' and closed his eyes in annoyance, his head turned towards the opposite way of Len's direction. He crossed his arms over his chest as he said, "No. I'm just saying that it's near dinner time and I'm sure Rin's hun-"
A loud growl resounded through the air around them as both boys failed at disguising their amused smiles. Rin smiled sheepishly and rubbed her thin belly, "Sorry~ Guess I am a little hungry..."
Rei looked at her knowingly and said, "Well, then, let's go towards the dining room. I bet Ann has prepared us something delicious."
They all nodded in agreement, but before anyone could walk out the door, Big Al slammed said object open and declared, "Rinto's been found!"
Rin looked relieved for a moment before her father decided to add, "... Sort-of..."
"What did you mean 'sort-of'?! How did you 'sort-of' find Rinto?!"
Big Al shook his head at his son's sarcasm before answering, "It's a bit complicated."
"Compli-" Rei didn't get to finish as his amber eyes looked over to where a boy with red hair was sitting on a chair, his face showing a huge blow of betrayal through each of his features.
Rin gasped at the sight and looked at her father, her eyes pleading him for answers. Big Al sighed and walked over towards the boy, ignoring his daughter's silent questions. He put a hand on the red-head's shoulder and asked a simple, "Why?"
The boy shook his head, his expression never shifting from his shocked state. "H-He m-made m-me d-do i-it...!"
Big Al glared at the boy, any signs of sympathy gone. "Who did?"
The boy trembled a bit, thinking it over for a minute, before shaking his head again.
"Well," Al got up and looked down at the shaking boy, "can you at least tell me where Rinto is now?"
"N-No, b-but-"
"Cut the bullshit!" Everyone looked at Rei in shock, but the boy ignored their surprised looks and continued, "Just tell us!"
Their little 'prisoner' shook his head yet again, "I c-can't... He's w-watching... He's always watching..."
Everyone exchanged looks of confusion before Rei said what was on everyone's mind. "Who's 'he'?"
The boy ignored his question and kept talking, "Rinto is somewhere safe... Safer than here... Dammit! You're all in danger!" He got up from his place on the chair, his eyes looking disturbed. "You have to listen! You're all in horrible danger! Rin!"
The girl's eyes widened as the boy pointed a finger at her chest. "They're going to get you! They're going to destroy everything you care about and take over...! You have to believe me!"
Rei looked at the boy with annoyance, wishing he would just shut up. Just when he was about to punch the dude, Big Al decided to act first by shooting him with a dart gun. The boy spun around a little before crashing towards the floor.
Everyone looked puzzled as nobody dared move, a heavy silence hovering over all of them.
Ring Suzune yawned as she walked towards the mail room. Without that rookie around, everything's been boring. Well, boring-er. Hanging out with Lui was still fun...
She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about it, she had mail to pick up. According to Kaito, his mother had sent him a 'ton-load' of ice-cream and she 'had to make him this really awesome favor'. Honestly, how that man turned out to be a scientist, Ring didn't have the slightest idea...
"You need somethin'?"
Ring snapped out of her thoughts and looked at one of the men that worked in the mail room. A small 'oh' escaped her lips as she smiled kindly at the man and politely said, "May I please have Kaito's package? He asked me to pick it up for him."
The man nodded, but before he did as he was told, he looked down at the clipboard in his hands and said, "Ah, there's also a package for you, Suzune-san. Well, it's not really a package, more of a drop-off, but..."
Ring looked at the man with a puzzled look. A drop-off? Let's see, today wasn't any special holiday, so it couldn't be from any of her family... When the man came back with her 'drop-off', Ring nearly gasped. With a small bow, she thanked the man and looked down at her 'delivery' and saw there was a note attached. Reluctantly, she took it off and read over it.
Suzune-san,
I know this may all seem a bit sudden, but he's not safe in his current home. If you can, may you please take good care of the little guy? If not, it's understandable and you can just hand him over to the Hatsune twins. If you can, that's really great-
There were dark pencil marks afterwards, but she ignored it and kept reading.
Please pay close attention to him. He's awfully sick, maybe take him to Kaito? Anyways, I am really grateful. Please keep him safe...
- Mikio
She didn't know what to think. She hadn't heard of him in ages. How could he-?
She heard a cough and looked down. The boy seemed sleepy as he clung to the ends of her dress. Her eyes looked into his innocent blue orbs and she smiled, "What's your name?"
The boy looked up at the stranger and answered simply. "Rinto."
Ring let out a small hum and grabbed the young boy's tiny hand. "Well then, Rinto, I guess you'll be staying with me."
A.N./ God, this took me FOREVER to make... Well, maybe just like a week or somethin' but whatever. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Poor Mikio, though. I make that boy suffer so much during this chappie...
I would like to thank all you wonderful readers that are currently reading this! You all mean a lot to me, without you, I don't know where I'll be with this story... Probably a less-epic plot and a shorter amount of chapters... xD I mean, really, Chapter 17?! Damn! Never thought I'd make it this far with this... And we still have a long way to go! (Not that long, though, so don't worry~) Review Replies for all you beautiful people~ :')
AquaBluey: Yes, it WAS that bad. Poor Rei, I almost feel terrible... Almost. xD
Honeycloud of RiverClan: Really? You learn something new everyday... Don't worry about Rinto! He's fine, see! *shows chapter* Totally fine...!
ninjagoforever1: Rei and Rinto are only mean because they're jealous (one more than the other)~ We got one for Team Len! *high-fives*
Adorable Reader: Yuuma isn't that big of an idiot, he's just really... ... ...Yeah, he's an idiot. Sorry, Yuuma~ xD Ohhohohoho~ Len's won't win so easily! Rei's gonna give it everything's he got!
Vipper-P: Ritsu may or may not appear... Who knows, I don't really have the ENTIRE plot laid out, so I may fit him somewhere without causing too much drama... ;)
Manga-Cats-Anime:This FanFic ain't going nowhere but the end. C: And I'm glad to hear you think it's awesome! :3
Review~